


The Changes We Dread Most May Contain Our Salvation

by indigorose50



Series: For Peace, Small Wonder [2]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, Gen, Jewish Character, Jewish Holidays, M/M, Rosh HaShana | Jewish New Year, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 12:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20835218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigorose50/pseuds/indigorose50
Summary: Sequel to "Something New Is Upon Us"It's been five years since the first Lazytown Rosh Hashanah dinner, and Robbie has invited his cousin Glanni. What could possibly go wrong?





	The Changes We Dread Most May Contain Our Salvation

**Author's Note:**

> Back again demanding Jewish characters in my TV shows lol Once again, every family is different! Bessie's traditions and stories are based on my own family! 
> 
> I really didn't think I'd be writing another part to this little story but I hope you enjoy, and possibly learn something! <3

“Do we _have_ to go?”

“We RSVP’d two weeks ago and you’re asking me that _now_?”

“Yes? What, did your ears stop working?”

Robbie gave Glanni a flat look as he knocked on Bessie’s front door. Around them, fall was just starting to take over Lazytown. A few leaves scattered the sidewalks, trees were turning color, a cool wind swept the streets; next door had already put up a scarecrow for their front garden.

Shifting the covered plate he held to his other hand, Robbie said, “Yes, we have to go.”

“But why do we have to come over so early?” Glanni continued to whine.

“To help set up! It’s a big dinner!”

“It sounds like a lot of work.”

“It’s… it’s a bit of work.”

Glanni crossed his arms. “You’ve changed, Roberta.”

“Look, work is worth it if it’s for good food, alright?” Robbie pounded on the door again. “You’re just pissed that Íþró is gonna be late.”

“Can you blame me? We’re practically newlyweds! I always miss him!”

“You’ve been married for three years.”

Glanni held out his arms with triumph like this proved his point. Before Robbie could offer a rebuttal, the door finally opened. Bessie stood there grinning. “Sorry, dears! We had our hands full!” She held up her hands, which were indeed full of a gloopy substance Robbie could only liken to oatmeal.

Recoiling, Glanni made a face of disgust. “_What_ is _that_?”

“We’re making matzo balls!” Behind Bessie, Ziggy came scampering up. His hands were also covered in goop. “Bessie finally let us watch her make them!”

Bessie looked abashed. “Well, it’s not a very complicated process. I didn’t want to disappoint you all.”

“Nah, that was _fun_,” Trix said, appearing in the entryway leading to the kitchen. “It’s always fun to make a mess. An’ no one yelled at us!”

Ziggy giggled. He has just celebrated his 13th birthday but still seemed like a little kid to Robbie. They all did. Even Pixel, the oldest at 16.

“Robbie!” Bessie’s delighted voice broke through his thoughts. She was grinning at the dish he held. “Did it work?!”

Puffing up his chest with pride, Robbie held out the plate. “Was there any doubt?”

“Yes!” Bessie said, making Glanni laugh. “Oh don’t look so sour, Robbie. Chocolate babka is hard to make. It takes hours! Truth be told, I bought one from the store just in case yours didn’t come out. They just looked so yummy and I thought “Well, if Robbie’s doesn’t work out I don’t want everyone disappointed’ so I snatched it up. They might make it in house or—”

She was interrupted by Trix calling from the kitchen, “Water’s boiling!”

Bessie clapped her sticky fingers. “Wonderful timing!”

Robbie and Glanni followed Ziggy and Bessie into the kitchen, pausing to toss their coats at the closet. There was a bowl with similar gloop stuck to the sides on the counter. Beside it were around 20 little balls on wax paper. Trix was leaning over a pot on the stove, which was boiling as promised.

Glanni leaned down to sniff the matzo balls and scowled. “What’s in these things?”

Robbie groaned and set the babka on the counter. He had given Glanni a lecture about _not saying things_ _like_ that in a disgusted tone. Apparently this lecture had been ignored. Luckily Bessie was used to children asked probing questions and gave Glanni a thin box in response. “All the ingredients and steps are listed here. I also add seltzer to my mix.”

“Why?” Glanni asked, turning the box over.

“It makes them fluffier!”

“What’s next, Ms. Busy?” Trix asked while Ziggy washed his hands.

Bessie bustled over to the stove just as more knocking sounded from the front door. “Stingy!” Bessie called, “Can you _please_ get the door this time?”

From the dining room, a voice shouted back, “But I’m _trying_ to get the table placements right!”

“Just do it, Stinge!” Trix called. “Or I’m replacing your hair gel with this matzo mix!”

With an almighty sigh, Stingy stomped from the dining room and opened the door. Stephanie and Milford’s voices sounded from the welcome mat. “_Shanah tovah_!”

“Yeah yeah, happy new year,” Stingy bit out. “Get inside. There’s a lot of work to do!”

Milford chuckled as he made joined everyone else in the kitchen. “Glanni! Glad you could make this year!”

Glanni, still reading the box, grumbled. “That makes one of us.”

Robbie slapped him on the back of the neck and reached out to take the dish Stephanie was holding. “How did it go this year?”

She beamed up at him, a few strands of hair coming loose from her long braid as she pulled off her scarf. “I think we finally found a kugel recipe everyone will like! It has _pineapple_ in it.”

Bessie and Trix both ooo’d at the word. Glanni just looked confused. “I thought you said kugel was a noodle dish?” He asked Robbie.

Robbie smirked. “Oh so you _were_ listening to me yesterday.”

“Maybe.”

“It has noodles, yeah, but other stuff too,” Stephanie explained. “This recipe called for cream cheese and cinnamon and cottage cheese—” She broke into laughter as Glanni’s confusion morphed into horror. “It’s good! Don’t worry!”

Meanwhile, Bessie closed the lid over the pot. “Ziggy, set the timer for 25 minutes.”

Ziggy did as he was told and Bessie started cleaning up. Stephanie and Milford joined in without hesitation while Trix went off to ‘bug Stingy’, as he called it.

“So that’s the brisket, the kugel, the soup, and dessert all ready,” Bessie said, ticking the items off on her fingers. “Apples! Where is Sportacus with the apples?”

Glanni made yet another face at the word and Robbie decided he’d had enough. Grabbing Glanni by the collar of his jacket, Robbie pulled him upstairs and into a spare bedroom. “_What_?” Glanni snapped. He sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed defiantly

“You have to stop being so… so _you_!” Robbie barked, pointing a finger in Glanni’s face. “I know you hate sports candy and I know you hate trying new food and I know you hate new things in general—”

“That’s not true,” Glanni interrupted, crossing his legs and twirling his ankle pointedly. “These heels are fresh off a display from—”

“I mean situations you’re not familiar with,” Robbie shot back. “You don’t know the adults here very well, and you don’t know anything about Jewish customs. But that doesn’t mean you have to turn your nose up at everything!”

Glanni abruptly stood. “How ELSE am I going to learn what everything is?! All of this is new and _scary_!” He admitted. “I’m either gonna asked about everything or I’m gonna run out the door!”

“Those aren’t your only two options!”

“Robbie, Glanni, please calm down,” came an unexpectedly patient voice behind them. Both turned to find Milford standing in the doorway, a soft smile on his face. “Glanni is doing just fine.”

Robbie had never heard such bullshit in his life. “What part of his behavior is ‘just fine’?!”

Milford chuckled and stepped properly into the room. “Don’t you remember our _first_ Rosh Hashanah, Robbie? You fretted about arriving on time, then you told us about all the research you did to make sure you knew what was going on, then you didn’t eat the apples even though you knew it was tradition…” He trailed off, a nostalgic look on his face, eyes slightly unfocused.

Robbie snapped his fingers a few times to get Milford’s attention. “What’s your point?” Even Glanni looked taken aback by this show of support.

With a shake of his head Milford said, “Why, you were _just_ like Glanni back then! You had no idea what to expect and you prepared as best you could. Coming to dinner made you nervous but you learned so much more by experiencing it than just reading about it!”

“But Glanni is just acting _snobby_ about everything!”

“Ah, but that’s because this is _his_ first Rosh Hashanah. There’s so much he doesn’t know, what other choice does he have but to ask about everything? Like I said, _you_ learned better by being here, right?”

“So,” Glanni began hesitantly, “you don’t think I’m being rude?”

Milford shrugged. “Maybe. But Bessie will make it clear if you step over a line.” He smiled again, patting Glanni on the arm. “We all understand this is a lot at once. If you want to try something, go ahead. If it makes you too uncomfortable, don’t worry. It’s _New Year’s_! Try and have _fun_!”

Glanni and Robbie exchanged a look. “Sorry,” Robbie finally said gruffly.

“Yeah.” Glanni dusted imaginary lint from his silk shirt. “Well, me too.” He offered Milford a small smile. “Thanks.”

Beaming, Milford tugged proudly at his suspenders. “That’s what I’m mayor! You get a lot of wisdom from running a town!” One of the suspenders snapped. The three of them watched it flop forward, then they burst into laughter.

“Gentlemen!” Bessie called up the stairs. “Sportacus is here with the apples and salmon!”

Glanni looped an arm over both of them. “Alright, let’s go greet the blue one!” He declared as he steered them out the door. He leaned into Robbie’s face and hissed, “I’m not eating the fish.”

“That’s fine,” Milford cut in, surprising the cousins. “Honestly I never do.”

“At least _my_ elf cooks his fish,” Robbie said. The three laughed again.

Downstairs, Sportacus was placing his tray of salmon in the oven to keep warm. A bag of freshly picked apples had spilled out across the kitchen table. He grinned when he saw Robbie. “_Shanah tovah_, _Ástin mín_.”

Glanni scoffed. “Okay that’s too many languages.”

Ignoring that, Sportacus planted a kiss on Robbie’s cheek. “Where were—”

He was cut off by shouts from the dining room. Everyone peeked in to see Trix and Stingy arguing. Between them was Pixel, who was a full foot taller than the both of them but still seemed overwhelmed by their yelling. “Who cares if the forks are evenly spaced from the plates?!” Trix was saying, color rising in his cheeks. “We’re gonna move them anyway when we sit!”

“You _should_ care!” Stingy stomped all around the table, putting the forks in what he considered their correct place. “If we don’t put things exactly right, we won’t be able to fit all 12 of us!”

Frowning, Stephanie muttered numbers under her breath and put up her fingers. “Uh, there’s only 11 of us.”

“No! It’s 12! We need a seat for Elijah!”

Pixel gave a startled laugh. “That’s Passover, Stingy! We don’t do that for New Year’s!”

Stingy turned pink. “Oh. Oh yeah.” Clearing his throat and straightening his back, he crossed to a place setting and started gathering it up.

He looked so embarrassed that Robbie willed someone to say _something_ because this was _not_ a good way to start off dinner. Luckily, Ziggy seemed to agree. “He can come to New Year’s too! There’s enough room!”

There was general agreement from everyone; expect Glanni, who shot Robbie an alarmed look. Probably due to the idea of an apparent stranger stopping by without warning. Robbie shook his head and made a note to explain that later.

Sportacus nudged Stingy. Stingy scowled but made his way over to Trix. “Sorry I was bossy,” he said to the floor.

Trix’s eyes were fixed on a spot just above Stingy’s head. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

Both turned to Sportacus in silent question. He rolled his eyes but nodded, and the two marched away from each other.

Bessie clapped her hands. “All the food is here, the matzo balls are cooked, the soup is almost heated up— let’s get drinks!”

There was a lot of activity in the kitchen after that announcement, as ten people tried getting ten different drinks at the same time. Robbie watched with delight as Glanni passed glasses down to the kids from the high shelf. Sportacus caught his eye and flashed a huge smile.

They sat down in the seats Pixel had chosen. “I made a seating chart at home and spent most of last night figuring out the arrangement!” he told Robbie proudly. “Everyone’s seat has been carefully and scientifically chosen to be the best place possible.” Robbie was just happy the kid has put him between Glanni and Sportacus. Now his boyfriend could eat any vegetables that came their way and he could also whisper explanations to Glanni.

Bessie said the blessing as she cut the challah. She remained standing as pieces were passed around. “So! Who wants to start this year?”

Ziggy’s hand flew into the air. “Me! _Me_! Please?!”

Glanni leaned over to whisper into Robbie’s ear, “Start what?” His mouth was already filled with challah.

“They like to go around the table and say something that’s changed since last year,” Robbie replied quickly as Ziggy jumped to his feet.

“This year,” Ziggy announced, “I’m finally at Mayhem Town High with all of you!” Pixel, Trix, Stingy, and Stephanie all whooped and clapped.

Next was Stephanie, who said, “Sportacus officially started my hero training this summer!” More cheers from around the table. Sportacus aimed a wink at Stephanie, who grinned back.

Pixel stood up. “I’m finally president of the Robotics Club at school and there are _certain people_ at this table whose help I’d _love_ to have.” He glared pointedly at Robbie.

Robbie opened his mouth to retort but Glanni cut in. “You don’t want _his_ help, twerp. _I_ built a whole canning machine out of stuff I found at the dump! It’s _my_ brains you want.” He took a sip of wine, ignoring Robbie’s scowl.

“That _is_ impressive…” Pixel said with awe.

“No it’s not!” Robbie interjected.

Bessie cleared her throat and the boys stopped bickering immediately. “Trix, would you like to go next?”

Trix got to his feet, looking nervous. “Uh, this year I officially started going by Trix and you’ve all done a really good job remembering. So, um, thanks.”

“It helps that you spray paint it everywhere,” Stephanie teased.

Milford looked shocked. “That was _you_?”

“Who _else_ would it be, Uncle?”

Everyone laughed at the betrayed expression on Milford’s face. Next was Sportacus, who, instead of standing, held out his left hand. “We still don’t have a date yet but you all remember when Robbie and I proposed to each other. Hopefully next Rosh Hashanah I will be able to tell share that we married.”

Bessie raised her glass and cried, “_Mazal tov_!” Everyone repeated the congratulations, except Glanni, who made a gagging sound as the couple kissed.

Robbie leaned back in his chair. “Mine’s the same as Sportadorable.” He turned to Glanni. The rest of the table did too. Glanni wilted slightly under the pressure of coming up with something.

Before he could speak, the door opened.

“Is it Elijah?!” Ziggy gasped, twisting in his chair. Bessie snorted into her wine so loud that Milford looked over in concern. 

“It’s the ghost of Rosh Hashanah past!” Trix declared.

Through the door stepped Íþróttaálfurinn, cheeks red and leaves stuck to his hat. “Sorry, everyone!” He said, shutting the door behind him. “The wind did not agree with my balloon.”

“Finally!” Glanni cheered with glee, getting up and practically jumping into Íþró’s arms. “You gotta try this bread, babe, it’s delicious!”

Íþró chuckled and kissed Glanni on the cheek. “Let me sit down first.” He ruffled Sportacus’ hair as he passed him.

“So?” Stephanie prompted. “Tell us what’s changed this year, Glanni!”

Glanni took Íþró’s hand. “I fell even more in love.” There was a mix of awing and gagging from around the table. Glanni lifted his leg up to show off his shoes. “I also got a new set of heels.”

“Got or stole?” Íþró asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No fighting at the dinner table,” Sportacus said.

“Since when has that been a rule? I remember I blue vested boy who would flick cherry tomatoes at me when our mother was not looking.”

“Really? Because _I_ remember a yellow hatted bully who kept putting salt in my water.”

“Maybe you deserved it.”

“No fighting at the Rosh Hashanah table,” Bessie stated as she began spooning up soup.

Dinner, for all the chaos that had transpired to put it together, went very well in Robbie’s opinion. Glanni tried almost everything put in front of him, though he passed on the green beans and may be responsible for half of the challah disappearing. The kugel was indeed a hit, much to Stephanie’s delight. She, Ziggy, and Pixel talked about robots on the opposite side of the table. Stingy gave Trix unsolicited advice on what short-hair styles to try next. At the head of the table, Milford and Bessie passed the wine bottle back and forth and giggled a fair amount. Íþró occasionally leaned forward to ask Sportacus a question about the food or the Hebrew Bessie used. The brothers finished off almost six apples between the two of them, sans honey.

And perhaps a handsome someone put a bit of salt in Sportacus’ water but Robbie would never admit it.

After dessert, which was both chocolate babkas as well as apple slab pie, they descended on the kitchen to help Bessie clean up. The cousins felt more tired than helpful and hid upstairs in the spare bedroom. “Well?” Robbie asked. “How was your first Rosh Hashanah?”

Glanni gave it some thought. “Surprisingly fun? When you said we were going to a Jewish holiday I expected more… religion. I thought this would be way stuffier.”

Robbie shrugged. “Bessie says everyone does it differently. This is just how Lazytown has done it for five years.”

“It’s… it’s a nice family you have here, Robbie.”

Robbie listened to the sounds of everyone downstairs, Sportacus’ distinct laughter above it all, and smiled. “Yeah. I do.”

There was a pause.

“A nice town, too.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Very nice. Very affordable.”

“… Please don’t tell me you two’re moving here.”

“Well—”

“Glanni—”

“Hey!” Both jumped as Bessie’s shout carried up the stairs. “Will you both stop _putzing around_ up there and come _help_?!”

“Yes, Ms. Busybody!”


End file.
